I have studded snows all the way around, basically because they were free.
The singer in my band bought them for his girlfriend, and while SHE had
all the traction she needed, someone slid into her and totalled the car.
They wouldn't fit the replacement, so I got them.
I was delivering newspapers when I got the tires, and would start at
~1:45AM. For some reason that winter saw a LOT of snow, and about 10 days
or so when it would snow, then rain, and then FREEZE! Between the tires
and the AWD, nothing stopped me. I took my Mazda out in the first freezing
rain storm, got going sideways down one road, narrowly missed a tree and
had to put the car in first gear and PUSH to get it going again! And that
was with Hankook iPike winter tires!
Now I am the Dell Field Service rep for this area, and put the S00b (89 GL
Coupe) on the road right about now...still with the studded snow tires.
Invaluable!

Even with AWD, you really have 2 wheels (one in front and one in back)
powering with open diffs. And 3 wheel drive with a rear limited slip
diff.
And of course, AWD/4WD might help you get going better, but it doesn't
help you stop.

Something people here in Nebraska seem to forget every year. We
have plenty of vehicles in ditches after the first slick stuff hits the
roads every winter. You'd think Nebraska was in the heart of Dixie the
way people drive at first.

AWD and ABS can give a false sense of security where you're not as careful
as you should be. We have that here in south central PA too. I just have
all season tires, but granted, snow tires would be better. I had Blizzaks
for a while, but they wear out too quickly especially if you leave them on
year round. Now I have Goodyear Triple Treds and have been happy with them.
:)

I just get one set of tires to use in all weather conditions. I don't
get [near] baldy tires. The tread is needed for grip when driving in
snow (not ice) and to channel out water when driving in rain. I don't
put on fat (wide) tires due to the plowing effect in snow. Skinnier
tires handle better in deep snow. I just go with all-weather tires and
keep the overall profile the same as for the standard tire & wheel to
eliminate any problems with tire travel. Of course, these tires are
used for a wide range of driving conditions on roads and not at the
extremes of pushing the SUV to its off-roading limits.
You may need knobby snow tires if you are continually driving on
unplowed unpaved roads or making your own roads. You didn't specify
WHICH Subaru model you are asking about. Some have more ground
clearance than others hence are more util for off-roading. Outbacks
have 8.4-8.1" ground clearance, Foresters have 7.5", and the Legacy only
has 5.9". More ground clearance is a boon to off-road adventurers but a
bane to roadgoers (due to exaggerated "dancing" due to more roll, dive,
and squat in cornering or avoidance manuevers).
Few SUV owners actually beat their beast to test just how nasty an
off-road experience they can survive before calling the nearest farmer
to yank their vehicle out of the muck. Even rarer are roadgoers that
actually test their vehicles and practive regularly to get used to when
understeer turns into oversteer, making skid turns or deliberate
spinouts of repeatable rotation, when to crank the wheel into the skid
and just the moment when to crank it back, and so on. Their "practice"
is their everyday driving to and from work, not performance practicing
to push the handling for emergency manuevers or racing.
If it's your intention to actually go hard off-roading then you need to
get tires that are appropriate for the terrain where you intend to play.
You never mentioned HOW you will be using the vehicle for the majority
of its use and when, if ever, you will be pushing it beyond your
everyday roadgoing use. For example, snow on roads is a different
situation than snow on unpaved and uneven roads, like forest logging
paths.

Since I live in a place now where winter weather is not too horrible for
too long I don't have and probably won't ever have winter tires on my
Subaru. But, when I lived in Anchorage, Alaska and only had a FWD VW, I
only had studded winter tires mounted for one season, finding that they
just didn't help as much as really careful gentle driving did. That and the
tendency of the tires to toss their studs at the least provocation
guaranteed a short life for them.

I take it that you now live in the Pacific NW as I do. I managed the
prior two winters with my Honda Accord without snow tires but this time
I put them on the front drive wheels. They do help in packed snow but
are not much help during slick conditions, unfortunately. In such
instances I wish I had them studded, but I've had similar studed tire
exprerience to yours in the past. Those studs just don't last very long.
I am considering buying a Legacy or Impreza and that's why I am asking
my questions here.

No, I don't live in the Pacific NW. My present location is in Eastern
Tennessee but in the merely hilly portion -- not up in the 'mountains'.
Snow here tends to fall, lay for a day or so, and then melt in pretty
quickly. Bad icing is not a common occurrence. I grew up and learned to
drive in the NE where winter conditions tended to be bad and was taught
'gentle' winter driving. To paraphrase the old-time automotive writer Tom
McCahill "drive as though there are raw eggs between your feet and the
pedals". This advice has served me well and I can say that not once between
1980-1997 in Alaska did I arrive late to work because of the weather.
Whether getting to work is a good thing or bad is left as an exercise for
the reader...
I suspect that if I was living in a location with really bad road icing
conditions I'd invest in a set of the flat band-type tire 'chains' which
are are quick to apply and remove when needed but would stick with good
all-season tires. Studs are definitely out with me unless I take up
frozen-lake racing in my dotage.
BTW, when I drove out of Alaska in late 1997 I was in a 1991 Mazda Miata
with high-performance Dunlop tires, not a 4WD or AWD, although having one
might have been useful at least once when the early blizzard blew through
Yukon Territory. There _are_ limits beyond which good driving practices
will not move you and a long steep hill covered with shiny ice is one of
them. <g>

Hmm, I'm getting a slight vibe that you plan to save some money by
running allseasons. IMHO if that is a concern subaru might not be the
best
choice as you will have to be meticulous about
1. rotating tires
2. replacing all 4-5 as a set when you wear out/blow any one or two of
them.
I currently run some sort of studded Continental knockoffs on my
rear wheel driver and it's fun to have all the power go aft,
but i do wish i had 5-15% torque going to
the front when climbing the proverbial ice and snow covered hill
John McGaw reminded you of in the neighboring post.

I purposely buy low-lifetime tires for the very reason that I will
someday need to throw away 1/3 the tread life on 3 tires and buy a
full set - just because one is irreparable. Everyone talks about
shaving tires - but that costs, wastes the lifespan of a new tire and
finding someone to do that is not easy.

Hmm, shaving summer tires should be a no brainer. but as for winters
i dunno if the customer grade snow or ice tires are nearly as good
as winter slicks.
If you run into something close to a winter slick do let us know,
please.
I would care for a glare ice traction more than for loose snow
whenever I switch to some (>1) wheel driver.
PS: I failed to plow through the loose snow with my rear wheel driver
this morning
(no LSD in the back): had to take public transit to work :-[

Hmm, shaving summer tires should be a no brainer. but as for winters
i dunno if the customer grade snow or ice tires are nearly as good
as winter slicks.
If you run into something close to a winter slick do let us know,
please.
I would care for a glare ice traction more than for loose snow
whenever I switch to some (>1) wheel driver.
PS: I failed to plow through the loose snow with my rear wheel driver
this morning
(no LSD in the back): had to take public transit to work :-[
*** Try putting your left foot on the brake a little with right foot on the
gas. It will act like an LSD by transferring torque to the other wheel. I
did it alot when there were only open diffs on cars..

My opinion is yes. It's too easy to get going with AWD. Stopping
(and turning) is the problem. I just put the cheapest set I can find,
as the Subaru doesn't need any help to get going. I just put Goodyear
Nordic tires on mine last week. (2010 Outback).
And don't skimp, put em on all 4 wheels. You'll find yourself going
around in circles with only two.

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